Skills Gap in Nigeria – A skill mismatch of 60.6% among recent graduates

University graduates in Nigeria have been reported to be poorly prepared for work in recent years. This has implications on the relevance of university education, the employability and productivity of university graduates. One of the reasons suggested for this condition by previous studies was skill mismatch⎯a situation where there is a disparity between the skills acquired by students in the universities and the actual skills needed in the labor market. However, not many of these studies have investigated the extent of skill mismatch in Nigeria. This study, therefore, examined the problem of skills mismatch and its prevalence in the Nigeria labor market.

This study was carried out to assess the incidence and extent of skills mismatch among employed university graduates in Nigeria labor market. The findings from the study showed that there were gross inadequacies in the supply of all the skills (except problem-solving skill), as needed by the employers and by extension the labor market. A skill mismatch of 60.6% was identified among recent graduates. Communication, IT, decision-making, critical thinking, interpersonal relationship, and entrepreneurial, technical and numeracy skills were found to be critically deficient. The study thus recommends that Nigerian universities should incorporate in their curriculum the inculcation of those skills that are in high demand by the labor market. This can be achieved by placing greater emphasis on practical work and real life situation more than theory in the curriculum.

The endemic unemployment in Nigeria has been blamed on many students and graduateslacking basic occupational skills and inability of most secondary schools and tertiary institutions in the country to teach their students to be self-reliant but rather to be job seekers. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works in the state, Dr. Ifreke Ekpa who stated … Continue reading →

A report by the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme, NSRP, indicates that Nigeria should create 4.5 million jobs annually to tackle the high level of unemployment in the country. It added that concerted effort made towards attaining the target would create enduring benefits to Nigeria and the entire African continent. The report, which was made … Continue reading →

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Monday urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on youths’ unemployment to address youth restiveness and enhance peaceful co-existence in Nigeria. He spoke in Ilorin at a one day technical youth summit for unemployed youths in Kwara State titled ‘Youths … Continue reading →

Many able bodied and highly qualified Nigerian who could not secure gainful employment have remained economically dependent on their parents. This is because they lack the necessary occupational skills to be self employed and to effectively function in today’s world of work Continue reading →

Dr Olusegun Aganga, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, on Thursday said that the Federal Government was working to create at least five million jobs by 2015. Aganga, who stated this in Ibadan at the opening of the 6th National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment (NCITI-06), said it would be achieved with industrialisation … Continue reading →

Efforts by the federal government to revitalise Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) in Nigeria is moving at a slow pace because of poor public perception. Minister of Education Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i stated this at the launch of the 2012 Education For All Global Monitoring Report with the theme ‘Youth and Skills: Putting Education … Continue reading →

Following the persistent outcry about the poor quality of Nigerian graduates, who are said to be unemployable, Poise Graduate Finishing School, a subsidiary of Poise Nigeria, has introduced an employability skills certification programme known as PSENSE. The PSENSE test, which was designed in collaboration with Biddle Consulting, US, is aimed at solving the recruitment challenges … Continue reading →

Lack of technical education translates to an annual loss of almost a billion naira to the economy The lack of skilled manpower in Nigeria is aptly portrayed by the experience of Kazeem Adesina, a youth corps member deployed to a construction firm. “I considered myself lucky because I studied Civil Engineering and was posted to … Continue reading →

The Nigerian Medical Association has urged Kano state government to declare state of emergency in the health sector to halt the mass exodus of medical practitioners from government hospitals across the state. The NMA said that the state has witnessed the disengagement of over one hundred medical doctors in the last 6 months. Briefing newsmen … Continue reading →